TCL S435 (LCD)
TCL S435 (LCD)
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PICTURE QUALITY: Fair—6.6/10
MOVIES & TV: Fair—6.1/10
GAMING: Poor—5.5/10
SPORTS: Poor—5.9/10
CARTOONS & ANIMATION: Good—7.0/10
NEWS & TALK: Poor—5.8/10
BRIGHT ROOM: Poor—5.6/10
The TCL S435 is a lower midrange priced LCD TV from 2021, featuring a large screen size which is ideal for enjoying movies and series. However, it's worth noting that it exhibits poor performance when it comes to gaming, sports content and viewing in bright rooms. If your main interest is gaming or watching fast-action sports, the response time and motion processing might not be up to par. For dark room usage, it also has its limitations, as it doesn't offer local dimming to enhance contrast. The colors out of the box are excellent, though color gamut and volume is fair, so general watching experiences should be pleasing but won't necessarily be top-notch in vibrant color detail. The sound quality is poor, suggesting an external sound system could be a valuable addition for better audio. Overall, if you're looking for an affordable TV primarily for casual movie watching or as a monitor, with the addition of good upscaling for non-4K content, the TCL S435 could be a suitable option, but for specialized uses like gaming or very bright room viewing, consider looking at TVs designed with those specific uses in mind. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Evaluation
Pros
- Good uniformity for cartoons and animation
- Excellent color accuracy out of the box
Cons
- Poor overall picture quality
- Gaming, sports, and movie performance is poor
- Dark and bright room performance is poor
- Low HDR and SDR brightness
Ratings by Category
Cartoons & Animaton:4.0
The TCL S435 is well-suited for cartoons and animation due to its 'excellent' colors out of the box, making the vivid and varied colors often found in animated content pop without the need for calibration. Additionally, while other aspects like color volume and contrast are rated less favorably, the strong initial color accuracy is particularly beneficial for the stylized and consistent color schemes characteristic of animated material.
Overall Picture:3.7
The TCL S435 has fair picture quality primarily because it lacks local dimming which impacts contrast and has poor HDR brightness, affecting the overall vibrancy and depth of HDR content. Additionally, while colors out of the box are excellent, the limited color gamut and volume mean the TV can't display a wide range of colors, resulting in less vivid images.
Movies & TV shows:3.2
The TCL S435 has a fair contrast and black uniformity, which are important for deep blacks in dark scenes when watching movies, but lacks local dimming to further enhance these aspects. Although it presents colors quite well out of the box, the limited color volume and viewing angles may not provide the best experience for colorful and wide-seated cinematic viewing.
Sports:3.0
PerfectRec’s sports score prioritizes response time and refresh rate as the most important factors to ensure clear images of fast-moving scenes. In addition, we consider gray uniformity, which ensures that the turf looks the same across the whole screen, reflections, to avoid distracting ambient light from the action, and viewing angles and brightness, to avoid color distortion and washed-out images, especially when not seated directly in front of the TV.
Full Specs
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
| Price | $230 | ||
Brand | TCL | ||
Release Date | September 1, 2020 | ||
Full name | 43S435 | ||
Screen Size | 43" | ||
Screen Resolution | 4K | ||
TV FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Operating System | Roku TV | ||
Sound Quality Score  | 5.9/10 | ||
NextGen Ready | No | ||
HDMI Ports | 3 | ||
Coax Ports | 1 | ||
DISPLAY QUALITY SCORES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Picture Quality Score | 6.7/10 | ||
Bright Room Score | 5.6/10 | ||
Gaming Score | 5.6/10 | ||
Movies & TV Score | 6.2/10 | ||
Sports Score | 6/10 | ||
PHYSICAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Dimensions w/o Stand (H x W x D) | 22.3" x 38.2" x 3.3" | ||
Dimensions with Stand (H x W) | 24.6" x 38.2" | ||
Weight without Stand | 15.4 lbs | ||
VESA Mount | 200 x 200 | ||
DISPLAY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Color Depth | 10 bit | ||
Black Frame Insertion | No | ||
Auto Low Latency Mode | No | ||
Contrast | 7.5/10 | ||
Local Dimming | 2.5/10 | ||
SOUND | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Speaker Setup | 2.0 | ||
Speaker Power | 16 W | ||
Dolby Atmos | Dolby Digital Plus Bypass Only | ||
DTS:X | No | ||
TCL S435 (LCD)
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Dig into reviews and images
CNET
Geoffrey Morrison | June 2021
"The TCL 4-Series is so inexpensive and capable you might start to question why there are any multithousand-dollar TVs at all. The 4-Series setup is intuitive and easy. If you're just looking for an easy-to-use TV with decent picture, this is an excellent place to start."
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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec TVs team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest TV information and makes it digestible for you.
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